Well surveying instrument



Filed Nov. 14, 1947 F/G. /c Geo/@ij Patented Nov. 17, 1953 UNITEDv STATES ATENT OFFICE Application-November 14, 1947 Serial N of. 785,912

This' invention relates to welll ysurveying in struments and has particular reference to an instrument designed for the recording of large` angles of inclination.

Well surveying instrumentsl containing compasses for indication of direction-have'.heretoforebeen substantially limited with respectA to the angles for which they can be used because of thel nature of the mounting of the compass. At the4 present time, and particularly for directional drilling in which holesare-intentionally` deviatedl very substantially from the vertical', the usual wellsurveyingv instruments are frequently not usable sincetherange of operability of theirv com-- passes arevexceeded. Various forms off' Compasses have been used. Those- Which are capable of maintaining a horizontal position of" the compass needle orf needles are the more satisfactory butthe mountingsof these Compasses, whether they are iioating or pivoted, impose limitations on their use. Sometimesv the limitation is mechanical, i. e., when-a large angle isrreached'a mounting` which issuitably friction-free for slightangles of inclination from the verticalA is such aseeitherk toA interpose mechanical obstruction totheres-- sumption bythe compasssof its` horizontal posi tion or'im-poses sufficient added friction izo-make the compass unreliable for indicating direction.- Additionally, and sometimes forming' the4 major` limitation, a compass cardi or needle isthrcwnu solar off the axis-oi-v the instrument. oris tilted to. such anV extent. that proper reading of .the1 recordisrendered difficult, ifm notirnpossble..V

Compasses whichy consist of a magnetized. needle secured rigidly at right angles to a spindle; which is mounted parallel to or in, thev axis. of. the instrument are also not usable at large angles, and, in fact, are more limited in their range than compasses which may assume horizontal positions, in view of the dip ofthe earths magnetic iield. For all angles of inclination except'those bearing particular relationships to the-V earths. magnetic4 iield, indicated directions will involvev errors' from the standpoint of direct readability; which'errors, though correctable by thex use'of tables, are difficult to correct; particularly` since the errors differ from'point to pointI depending upon changes in themagneticdipand it is necessaryY for interpretation of the recordsv to take into accountv the local dip Where-the record is` made.

It is an object of the present invention to pro-Y videa well surveying instrument which will func tionproperly at large angles of deviation fromthe vertical as Well as small'A angles.- In brief, -v

(Cl. 33--205.5 )H

thisy end is. accomplished bythe use or a novel' type of compass which is, for. all practicalpunv poses, substantially independent of local magnetic conditions andi which, consequently, gives riseto a recordA Whichis. directly readable.

Further objects ofi the invention, relateto; the association or" such compass with other'l parts; of. a Well surveying. instrument whereby a, simple constructionresults, capable. of operation. lnx-sub.- stantially the same general: fashion; from the.I standpoint. of.l the.. operator, as surveying. instru-.fments now in common use4r Stillanothen obs ject; of the invention relates 'tothe'.provisi'on of; an instrument which may be used for tool orientation purposes in connectionwith; directional drilling in. holes vdeviating` at; large. angles from: the vertical.

These and other` objects relating in particular' to features of constructionof the. surveying'ape paratus Willbecomeapparent from. the .following descriptionread in conjunction with the accom, panying drawing in which.:`

Figures IA, 1B` and 1Cv are respective views,

partlyv in section, sho-wing. the improvedinstituey ment from the upper to the lower ends. thereof..

invention; Itv may desirablybe of the type ilV lustrated in detail in the application-y off-Roland Ring, Serial No. 629.052,y filed November i6, 1945, being arranged to delay theclosurecf an elec trical illumination circuitv for a predetermined time and then to close-the circuit for a limited time for the purposeofproviding a photographic exposure. As described in said Ring application.'`

the timingjmeans isset andfsimultaneously wound by thel manipulation of a knob-enclosedby' the' cap2 and' is incircuitwith a series of batteries il enclosed withinV a tubular`V portion of the casing. groundingV the, upper. pole of these. bat;- teries at` the.V time when exposure is to be. eff? l fected.

To provide illumination there is` in series with the. batteries a lamp I4. mounted in a coupling l2 and arranged through suitable intermediate elements and: aspring |0- for velectrical inclusion in the. Circuit. 'I`he:.partic11lar arrangement oit:

This timing mecha-- the lamp may be conventional and forms no part of the present invention. It will suce for present purposes to state that the lamp, illumination of which is controlled as indicated above, is located above a compass assembly now to be described.

The compass assembly indicated in Figure 1B comprises a pair of glass partitions I6 and lil suitably spaced by a tube, the upper partition i6 being of opal glass or frosted so as to furnish a substantially uniformly illuminated disc. Alternatively, this partition may be of clear transparent glass if the bulb is frosted so as to provide a relatively large source of light to avoid the casting of a noticeable shadow by the compass needle. Mounted between the glass partitions is a spindle 22 supported preferably in ball bearings 3&3 and 32 iixed in the partitions. The spindle 22 is preferably bifurcated and between the legs of the spindle there is pivoted a ring 2G in which is xedly mounted a magnetized needle 28. It will, of course, be evident that the magnetic needle may be replaced by a plurality of needles arranged in parallelism and mounted on an axis perpendicular to the upright axis oi the spindle.

The arrangement described is such that the needle, or equivalent needle system, has its magnetic axis substantially horizontal at all times with its center of balance substantially coincident with the transverse axis of the pivot pins 243 mounting the ring 2B. It is to be noted that this involves the mechanical center of gravity being displaced from this axis inasmuch as the torque exerted due to the dip of the earths magnetic field must be balanced by the gravitational torque about the transverse axis. As a matter of fact, this would mean that the needle would be horizontal only where the dip and/or strength of the magnetic field of the earth had particular values; however, over quite large areas, such as all of the oil producing areas in the southwestern part of the United States, there is insufficient variation of the earths magnetic field to cause a needle so mounted to deviate substantially from the horizontal. Minor deviations from horizontal are immaterial in the case of the present construction and within the area indicated the resulting differences in the azimuthal indications of the instrument will be well within the permissible errors of such an instrument and will not require corrections to be made. Accordingly, for simplicity of description, it may be assumed that the needle remains substantially horizontal, it being understood, of course, that deviations such as indicated may exist in particular locations. It should be stressed that the needle system, however, should not be pendulous, i. e., its horizontal position should not be maintained because its center of gravity is below its axis of support; its mechanical center of gravity should be, except for the deviations from horizontal just noted, in the horizontal plane of the axis of the supporting pivots.

A The result of the needle construction just described is that, in any position of inclination of the instrument and of the spindle,vthe axis of which is coincident with, or at any rate parallel to, the axis of the instrument, the magnetic axis of the needle or needle system will lie in a vertical plane parallel to the earths iield, i. e., the magnetic axis of the needle or needle system will point in a magnetic north-south direction. The spindle will then necessarily take an equilibrium position consistent with horizontal or approximately horizontal position of the magnetic axis of the. needle or needle system in such plane.

lThe lower end of the spindle extends downwardly through the partition I8 and carries a compass card 34 which is preferably translucent, carrying at its periphery on its lower side suitable indications of degrees though, ir" desired, it may carry only a single marking indicating a northsouth direction. The markings on this compass card, if degrees are indicated may be of two forms. The degree markings may be equally spaced in which case they may be used directly for approximate indications of directions while accurate, true indications of direction may require the making of minor corrections from a table depending upon the inclination and direction of inclination first directly read from the record. Secondly, and preferably, the degree markings are not equally spaced but rather are so engraved thereon that direct reading of the record is possible.

Below the disc 34 there is a transparent diaphragm 36 forming the upper cover of a ball chamber the lower side of which is constituted by a lens 33, the upper surface of which is spherical to support a metallic ball 40 in such fashion that despite the inclination of the instrument the ball will always lie directly below the center of curvature of the spherical surface. The lower side of the lens 38 is provided with concentric circles engraved therein as indicated at 4|, these circles indicating by coincidence with the center of the ball the degree of inclination.

While a spherical surface on which the ball rolls is generally satisfactory it may be that in an instrument designed to indicate not only large angles of inclination but also to indicate smaller angles there will be desirably a greater sensitivity of indication of the smaller angles, i. e., the radial displacement of the ball along the surface for a given angular change in the region of small angles of inclination will be greater than in the region of larger angles oi inclination. In such case the upper surface of the lens will not be spherical but will consist of a surface of revolution about the axis of the instrument with a maximum radius of curvature at the axis, this radius of curvature decreasing toward the periphery. It may, for example, be spheroidal in which case the coaxial circles, indicating the de-I grees of inclination, will be more crowded at the periphery than at the center.

The foregoing construction, as will be evident, is capable of operation at large angles of inclination. So far as the compass is concerned the needle may be readily mounted so as to clear the spindle and the partitions even at quite large angles of inclination, larger than would be the case with dimensions as in Figure 1B which represents the construction which may be adopted for angles of inclination up to approximately 40. In fact, by increasing the height of the space in the spindle the needle may be free to revolve through 360 about its mounting axis though desirably such rotation is prevented and confined to less than 180 to prevent the possible though unlikely occurrence of indeterminate positions. The spherical surface lil may also be made of any desired radius of curvature so that the ball will properly indicate even large angles of inclination. in fact, if it is desired to indicate large angles with a high degree of sensitivity as compared with lower angles the spheroidal nature of the ball supporting surface may be changed in a fashion opposite that previously mentioned to thev end that ithas a.,

the record disc 52 is pressed.

small radius of curvature near theY axisanda large radius atl the periphery.

The chamber between the lens 38 and the upper partition I6 desirably contains transparent` liquid for damping, acting for this purpose upon the compass card .'sliY and the ball 49a The liquid,- however, should not rise to the level of the needle system on which its buoyant action would be undesirable unless, asv may be thevcase, the needle system isbalanced under immersion conditions in which case the conditions-outlined for the center of gravityv should be appliedto the force center resulting, from the combined actions of gravity on the needle system and the buoyant forces of Y the liquid. An opening through the partition B and the openingatthe bearing through the partition I8. serve to permit free seepage of' the liquid between the, Various chambers to take care of' expansion and contraction due to changes in temperature. The various partitions are properly separated as indicated by tubes, all assembled and located within tubular portion 42 of the casing.

Below the compass and ball arrangements heretofore described there is a lens 44 arranged to project an image of the compass card, the bail and the coaxial markings lll upon a sensitized record disc, The aperture of the lens ed is desirably sumciently small so that sharp images of these elements are projected on the record disc despite their different distances from the lens. The ball is, of course, projected as a shadow on the illuminated background formed either by the disc 34, if it is translucent, or by the partition I6 if the disc or card S is transparent. Preferably the card 34 is translucent whereby there is substantially entirely avoided any shadow of the compass needle or needle system.

Below the lens d4, which is mounted in the member 46, is a compass assembly immediately above the record disc 62. This assembly con sists of a pair of transparent partitions d@ and 50 assembled in a carrier and held in place by a ring ed. In jewel bearings in these partitions there is mounted a compass needle 52. This compass 52 is arranged for use in carrying out the method of orientation described in the patent to Hyer 2,120,670 dated June 14, 1938, and, inasmuch as in carrying out said method, it is subject to attraction by a powerful magnet, it is not necessary that it be delicately mounted nor that any precautions be taken even when used at high angles of inclination for maintaining it against variable conditions due to the dip or changes of strength of the earths magnetic field. The lower edge oi this compass assembly may form an abutment against which This compass may, in ordinary surveying, -be omitted though its presence is unobjectionable.

The record disc t2 is arranged to be entered into the instrument through a slot arrangement 55A and is adapted to be pressed upwardly into a light-tight position by a plunger 5t pressed upwardly by a spring t and arranged to be manipulated by a knob 6l, the stem of the plunger being threaded, as indicated at 58, into the lower plug 6d of the instrument. This lower plug is provided with a T-slot 65 whereby the instrument may be supported in a protective casing upon a stem spring mounted for shock absorbing purposes.

The operation of the instrument for surveying is essentially similar to the operation of photographic. instrumentsccmmon; use; and;

theV lens 44 upon disc 621 which, when the plunger 54 is up inslot-closing position, willfbe in focus withthe comnasscard 3rd-.andthe balla WhenV orientation is being accoi-:rxplishedY in;

accordance with said; Hyer patent. the compass... 52 willbe attracted. by a; magnet carriedby the..

lower end of the drill stem and a shadow of this compasstvvilll be projected upon the record disc. The relationship of this shadow to the image of the compass card Will then give the orienta-` tion of the tool in the usual fashion.

It will, of course, be clear that at least those parts of the apparatus in the vicinity of the magnet needles must be of non-magnetic material.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been described it will be clear that various changes in construction may be made, as will be evident to those skilled in the art, Without departure from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A well surveying instrument comprising a casing of a form adapted to be lowered into a bore hole, means for mounting a sensitized record member within said casing and transversely of the axis of said casing, a compass mounted within said casing, said compass comprising a spindle, means mounting said spindle for rotation about an axis extending in the direction of the axis of the casing and a magnetized needle mounted on said spindle for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the spindle, said needle being substantially non-pendulous and balanced to occupy at all times a substantially horizontal position irrespective of slope of the casing, and means mounted within said casing including illuminating means and a lens for projecting on said record member an image to record the position of said spindle relative to said casing.

2. A well surveying instrument comprising a casing of a form adapted to be lowered into a bore hole, means for mounting a sensitized record member within said casing and transversely of the axis of said casing, a compass mounted within said casing, said compass comprising a spindle, means mounting said spindle for rotation about an axis extending in the direction of the axis of the casing and a magnetized needle l mounted on said spindle for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the spindle, said needle being substantially non-pendulous and balanced to occupy at all times a substantially horizontal position irrespective of slope of the casing, a compass card carried by said spindie and means including illuminating means and a lens for projecting on said record member an image of said compass card to record the position of said spindle relative to said casing.

3. A well surveying instrument comprising a casing of a form adapted to be lowered into a bore hole, means for mounting a sensitized record member within said casing and transversely of the axis of said casing, a'compass mounted within said casing, said compass comprising a spindle, means mounting said spindle for rotation about an axis extending in the direction of the axis of the casing and a magnetized needle mounted on said spindle for rotation about an axis perpendicular to the axis of the spindle, said needle being substantially non-pendulous and balanced to occupy at all times a substantially horizontal position irrespective of slope of the casing, inclination responsive means located within said casing adjacent to said compass, and means including illuminating means and a lens for projecting on said record member a combined image to record the position of said spindle relative to said casing and the inclination of said casing.

GEORGE A. SMITH.

8 References Cited in the file 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number 15 9,496 '74,273 10,51 1 377,549

Name Date Blanchard Dec. 22, 1885 Berger Feb. 6, 1912 Abbot Apr. 14, 1925 Jakosky Dec. 6, 1932 Webster Nov. 9, 1937 Hyer June 14, 1938 Anderson Jan. 17, 1939 Doll Dec. 28, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain 1893 Germany 1894 Great Britain 1907 Germany 1923 

